Tell CDs What to Do

Windows XP gives you even more control over CD autoruns. You can actually specify what happens when different kinds of CDs are put into your drive.

For instance, what if you want music CDs to always open in Windows Media Player? Or your picture CDs to open in Photoshop? Well, today I’m going to show you how to do this and more.

Head over to your CD drive (you may need to go to “My Computer” first), right click and choose “Properties”. Click the tab that says “Autoplay”.

You’ll find a drop-down menu for different types of CDs: Music Files, Pictures, Video files, Blank CD, etc. Select one and you’ll see options for that type. For example, select “Music Files” and you’ll find all your media players listed in the lower window. Pick one and your music files will always open in that program.

You can also choose “Take no action” or select the “Prompt me each time to choose an action” radio button.

So, dive in and experiment with different settings. If you don’t like the result, all you need to do is click the “Restore Defaults” button to put it back the way it came from the factory.

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